Manuel Pellegrini's side travel to Goodison Park on Saturday evening knowing that they can steal the lead from Liverpool at the table's summit and win a second title in three seasons if they win their remaining three games of the campaign.

Anything other than victory for the Eastlands outfit would see Everton inadvertently gift the advantage back to their local rivals as they look to end a 24-year wait to be crowned champions of England - something which already sits uneasily with some supporters.

But with the Toffees still hoping to snare Arsenal to the final Champions League place, and needing just one point to secure Europa League qualification, Martinez has dismissed suggestions that his side would allow the title race to alter their integrity in the season run-in.

"I always felt that the relationship between the two clubs in the city over many years has had incredible chapters and this would be another fascinating chapter," he told his pre-match press conference.

"But I don't think there's any doubt of the integrity of our football club towards the league and towards the competition. We are a team and a club that want to win every single game that we go into, and we're looking at ourselves.

"They are precious points to us so we can't really afford to not give everything we've got for every point that we've got left.

Richard Buxton

Richard is a freelance writer based in Liverpool who has been covering football on Merseyside since 2009. His work has featured in various national and international publications including Mirror Football, Sports Illustrated, Football365 and the Irish Examiner.